Oppo Realme 2 Pro review: Surprisingly desirable

Oppo Realme 2 Pro review: Surprisingly desirable

Oppo is slowly yet steadily making a comfortable spot in the sub Rs 20,000 smartphone range with its new online brand, Realme. While it’s still a fresh name and probably not as popular as the likes of Xiaomi, Honor, Motorola or Nokia, the company’s first two handsets have received a positive response.

The new Realme 2 Pro, which was launched last week, takes things further and got me interested as the company is offering a whole lot on paper at a really good value. Another reason for my interest was the fact that I haven’t tried any of their previous offerings.

The highlight feature of the new handset is its neat design featuring a nice bezel-less display with a tiny ‘dewdrop’ notch, better hardware and improved cameras. Let’s check it out…

Design and display

Oppo Realme 2 Pro review: Surprisingly desirable

The Realme 2 Pro can be easily mistaken for the Honor 10, only larger. It comes with a similar glass back finish with a horizontally stacked dual-camera setup. In fact, it looks very similar to the Realme 2, apart from the diamond-cut finish under the glass. With the number of smartphones being dumped into the market, I wasn’t that surprised to see the similarities.

The edges and corners are rounded with a nice powdered metal finish. All the buttons and ports also feel solid. It is also worth noting that you get a provision for a dedicated microSD card apart from the dual-SIM cards. For those expecting a USB Type-C port, you might be disappointed as the company is still sticking to micro USB.

At the front, there is an increase in real-estate which the company has achieved by minimising the notch to a tiny droplet design. This is something that Oppo and Vivo both have been implementing on their new smartphones, and even the upcoming OnePlus 6T is expected to have this design. It isn’t entirely bezel-less though, as there is a black border around the display and a chin at the bottom.

The display measures 6.3-inches and is a IPS LCD offering good colours and contrast. The resolution is 2340×1080 which translates to 409ppi. It is also quite bright, something that I noticed right when I booted up the device for the first time. Like most modern smartphones you get to tune the temperature manually or just set an automatic timer to turn the display warmer during night time. There is a tiny shift in colour when viewed from a few angles, but overall I was very pleased with the display.

The smartphone feels a lot chunkier than most handsets in the market. And while one might think that is because of a bigger battery, that is not the case. Compared to the Realme 2, the Pro has a smaller battery but gains a bit of weight as well as thickness. But to be fair I am just nitpicking here, the fact is that the company is offering an aesthetically good looking phone at a starting price of just Rs 13,990.